Hark! hark! the lark at heaven's gate sings, And Phoebus 'gins arise,

His steeds to water at those springs

On chaliced flowers that lies;

And winking Mary-buds begin
To ope their golden eyes:
With everything that pretty is,
My lady sweet, arise!

Arise, Arise!

SHAKESPEARE.

Biographical.

HELPS TO STUDY

William Shakespeare, a famous English poet and the greatest of dramatists, was born in Stratford-on-Avon in 1564. Little is known of his life. His parents were poor, and it is probable that his education was somewhat scanty. He became an actor in one of the London companies when a young man, thus gaining practical training for the writing of the plays which have made him famous.

Notes and Questions.

Phoebus, also called Apollo, was the

Greek god of the sun. The Greeks thought of him as driving across the sky in his golden chariot. What is meant by the lark "at heaven's gate sings"? Explain what is meant by "chaliced flowers." What is meant by the "springs on chaliced flowers"? What happens to the drops of moisture on the grass and flowers when the sun rises? Express in your own words "winking Marybuds begin to ope their golden eyes."

"Hark! Hark! The Lark" is from "Cymbeline," one of Shakespeare's plays.

THE PANTHER HUNT

I

I entered the squatter's cabin, and immediately opened a conversation with him respecting the selection of the swamp and its natural productions. He told me he thought it the very place I ought to visit, spoke of the game which it contained, and

pointed to some bear and deer skins, adding that the individuals to which they had belonged formed but a small portion of the number of those animals which he had shot within it.

My heart swelled with delight; and on asking if he would accompany me through the great swamp and allow me to become an inmate of his humble but hospitable mansion, I was gratified to find that he cordially assented to all my proposals. So I immediately unstrapped my drawing materials, laid up my gun, and sat down to partake of the homely but wholesome fare intended for the supper of the squatter, his wife, and his two sons.

The quietness of the evening seemed in perfect accordance with the gentle demeanor of the family. The wife

and children, I more than once thought, seemed to look upon me as a strange sort of person, going about, as I told them I was, in search of birds and plants; and were I here to relate the many questions they put to me, in return for those which I addressed to them, the catalogue would occupy several pages.

The squatter, his sons, and myself spoke of hunting and fishing, until at length tired, we laid ourselves down on pallets of bear skins, and reposed in peace on the floor of the only apartment of which the hut consisted.

Day dawned, and the squatter's call to his hogs, which, being almost in a wild state, were suffered to seek the greater portion of their food in the forest, awakened me. Being fully dressed, I was not long in joining him. The hogs and their young came grunting at the well-known call of their owner, who threw them a few ears of corn and counted them, but told me that for some weeks their number had been greatly diminished by the ravages committed upon them by a large panther, by which name the cougar is designated in America, and that the ravenous animal did not content himself with the flesh of his pigs, but now and then carried off one of his calves, notwithstanding the many attempts he had made to shoot it.

The "painter," as he sometimes called it, had on several occasions robbed him of a dead deer, and to these exploits, the squatter added several remarkable feats of audacity which it had performed, to give me an idea of the formidable character of the beast. Delighted by his description, I offered to assist him in destroying the enemy; at which he was highly pleased, but assured me that unless some of the neighbors should join us with

their dogs and his own, the attempt would prove fruitless.

Soon after, mounting a horse, he went off to his neighbors, several of whom lived at a distance of some miles, and appointed a day of meeting. The hunters, accordingly, made their appearance one fine morning at the door of the cabin, just as the sun was emerging from beneath the horizon. They were five in number and fully equipped for the chase, being mounted on horses, which in some parts of Europe might appear sorry nags, but which in strength, speed, and bottom are better fitted for pursuing a cougar or a bear through woods and morasses than any in their country.

A pack of large, ugly curs was already engaged in making acquaintance with those of the squatter. He and myself mounted his two best horses, while his sons were bestriding others of inferior quality. Few words were uttered by the party until we had reached the edge of the swamp, where it was agreed that all should disperse, and seek for the fresh track of the "painter," it being previously settled that the discoverer should blow his horn and remain on the spot until the rest should join him.

In less than an hour the sound of the horn was clearly heard, and sticking close to the squatter, off we went through the thick woods, guided only by the now-andthen repeated call of the distant huntsman. We soon reached the spot, and in a short time the rest of the party came up. The best dog was sent forward to track the cougar, and in a few moments the whole pack was observed diligently trailing and bearing in their course